Air Marshal , Vice Chief of Air Staff & Retirement

During the 1971 war, he was the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Maritime Air Operations in Bombay in the rank of Air Vice Marshal. Maritime air operations were jointly conducted with FOC-in-C Western Naval Command; notable among the operations carried out during that War was the joint planning and execution of the attack with the Indian Navy on Karachi Harbour and the petrol storage tanks near Karachi. He then moved to Training Command as its AOC-in-C. He was the AOC-in-C of Maintenance Command based at Nagpur before moving to Air HQ as the Vice Chief of Air Staff. During his tenure as the VCAS he was awarded the PVSM for meritorious service of the highest order.

Air Marshal AR Pandit PVSM, AVSM, DFC retired from the IAF on 31 Mar. 1977 after 36 years of distinguished service during which he flew 23 types of aircraft and recorded 3800 hours of flying. Since retirement Air Marshal and Mrs. Pandit have settled down in Pune.

As an Air Vice Marshal - He was the AOC in C of Training Command at that time.